Through Your Lavender Eyes
by Angel Of Dark Intuition
Summary: Tenten is happy with her life. Great friends, adopted famil, and school--that is, until her parents send her to boarding school to find a husband. What will happen when she's stuck with someone who drives her up the wall instead? Complete chaos. Plz read.
1. Well, That's Just Perfect!

**Okay everybody, I'm starting to write this story because it's a safe subject for me and because I LOVE the NejiXTenten pairing. This story was originally going to be a NarutoXHinata pairing as well, but....complications. Anyway, I hope you all like this story, and I will be waiting for reviews and constructive criticism.**

**NOTE: POV will be indicated before a piece is written, and omnicient POV will be used throughout the story.**

**.xXx. Angel .xXx.**

Chapter One: Well, That's Just Perfect!

.xXx. Tenten's POV .xXx.

Hi there. My name is Tenten. Yup, just Tenten. Last name? Oh, I don't have one. Nobody in Konoha knows where I came from--including me. Konoha is my town, but it technically isn't my _hometown_, My parents--whoever they are--dropped me here as an infant while they were on the run from the law of Cloud Country. Nobody actually _saw_ them leaving me here, but I've been told all the rumors. Tsunade, my Hokage and general over-seer, told me that she thinks my parents are from the Wind Country, but that doesn't help me much.

I know I seem kinda cocky for an abandoned child, but that's just my personality. And besides, it's not like I miss my parents or anything--I have something better. That "something" is the Shinata family, and they adopted me. There are six of them--my mom Hisana, my dad Tadase, and they're four children. The oldest is Daichi--he is eighteen, and going to college next fall in Sunagakure. He is the most amazing big brother on the face of the planet, even if there _are_ days when we want to linch eachother and then parade the bodies around Konoha. Next is my little sister Karin, the most badass fourteen year old you will ever meet. She is sarcastic, cynical, and generally pessemistic. Oh, and she tends to label people within the first thirty seconds of meeting them. Lucky for me, I was a part of this family before she was even born, so she grew up loving me to death and then some. Finally, there are my two littlest siblings, Ria and Akusho. They are five years old, and twins. Because Akusho is a minute older than his sister, he has decided that it's his personal job to protect her from everything. But in reality, it's Ria who wears the pants. She's always bossing Akusho around, and he acts as her most loyal servant, doing everything and anything she asks of him to the very best of his five year old abilities. I love each and every one of them more than I can even explain.

Hisana and Tadase adopted me when I was a year old, and they have taken care of and loved me like they're own ever since. I'm seventeen now, just one year younger than Daichi, and I have grown well into my place in the family. Lucky for me, I look like I belong. My mother, Hisana, has long, wavy red hair that frames her petite, heart shaped face and large green eyes sparkling with humor and passion. Her skin is pale, and her smile is delicate like a pearl. She loves to laugh. My dad, Tadase, has thick, straight black hair that he usually has spiked up, and cow brown eyes with crow's feet and laugh lines in the corners. He has tan, weathered skin, and an enormous grin that hardly ever falters. Where Hisana is short, my dad is tall. And they're offspring were of just the sort that I could physically relate to. Red and black hair made jet black hair for Karin, flaming red hair for Ria, and a soft, dark brown hair color for Daichi and Akusho that conveniently and perfectly matched mine. Green eyes and brown eyes made brown eyes for Karin and Daichi, and beautiful hazel eyes for Ria and Akusho--eyes exactly the same color as mine, a mix of oakish sepia and emerald green. I could blame my size of 5'5 on Hisana, because we were petite, as well as my heart-shaped face that was much the same as her's and Karin's. And the credit for my olive complexion went to my dad Tadase. Unless you had been told the story or living in Konoha for eighteen years, you could never tell that I didn't belong. The only different thing about me is that I didn't take the name Shinata. I chose not to have a last name, as a reminder of where I really come from.

So I grew up in Konoha, along with all the other kids my age. I went to the Konoha Ninja Academy when I was seven and graduated from it when I was twelve. I have a circle of best friends--Sakura, Ino, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Naruto. We are all chunin, and are going to take our Jounin exams next July. I have made a perfect life for myself, and I'm completely happy with where I'm going and what I'm doing.

..........Yeah. That's what the old Tenten would have said a week ago if you asked her about it. I happen to be singing a slightly different tune now.

I'm guessing I owe an explanation now, right? Ah, well. Fine. It all started last friday, when my mom called me into the kitchen from my room to talk. A small, inconsequential thing like that. I never in a million _years_ thought that it would ultimately end up causing the end of my life _and _my sanity. But I guess that's just what I get for expecting anything less.

.xXx. One Week Ago--Omnicient POV .xXx.

Tenten went loping gracefully down the stairs in an old black tank top and her favorite grey sweats. Her long hair was up in one sloppy, casual bun, and her feet were bare. She was in a great mood--she was trying unsuccessfully to whistle on her way to the living room. Her mother had called her down in the midst of preparations she was making for a sleepover that night with Sakura and Ino; her plush, bright red carpet was covered in pillows and blankets, a pile of magazines was spread out on her double bed, and her black stereo was blasting Lady Sovereign from the corner of her room. She was heading down the stairs because her mother had called for her from the living room on the main floor. Her friends were going to be there in about half an hour, so she wanted to get any implications out of the way before they got there.

As she bounced lightly into the living room, she felt a wide grin cross her features, just like it always did when she crossed the room's threshold. Although Tenten and her family had lived in this house ever since the Shinatas adopted her, this room's beauty never failed to warm her insides and momentarily steal her breath. The room was large and wide, with a low ceiling covered in flawless white paint that actually had a nearly intraceable hint of yellow in it. Large, sparkly slabs of grey and tan granite had been masterfully masoned into the sides of two conjoined walls, creeping up from the floor and curving gracefully around the windows, which resembled the curved windows in old castle turrets. The rest of the walls were covered halfway up in bloody blush oak, cutting off into a beautiful red paint, and the floor was a lighter shade of honey kissed birch. In the stony corner of the room, the same large slabs of granite had been artfully worked into the floor, spreading out a space in front of the handsome rock-hewn fireplace. In that fireplace was a cheerfully roaring fire--no surprise, considering that her mother lived there--and the sturdy furniture was arranged tastefully around it accordingly. There was a long, high-up couch with wide cushions and a comfy back upholstered in black leather with stainless steel legs, placed off to the side. A large, low glass coffee table was placed in front of it, and on the table was a cracked red-china water vase overflowing with babybreath and red and yellow wildflowers. On the other side of the room there was a chaise-lounge upholstered in brilliant white suede, and this too had a plush body and stainless steel legs. In front of the fireplace there were two chairs, inclined slightly towards eachother. One was a soft, pretty white that turned a rosy color in the firelight. It was a cushy recliner with wide arms, and it had a brilliant crimson afghan thrown over the back. This chair was her mother's. The chair beside it didn't go with the rest of the room at all. The chair was old, worn, and _bimongous_. It was dark green, and very artistic and yet strikingly masculine splashes of earthy maroon, sandy brown, and brilliant blue swam across the fabric in feathery brushstrokes. It had an old wooden handle on the side to recline it, and there was an _ancient _scrap-worked afghan folded over the seat, leaving the back bare. It was her father's, and it was older than Daichi. None of the children knew where their father had gotten it--he would never tell them. The classic hanging chandelier in the center of the ceiling was on, casting bright golden light everywhere.

Her mother was currently sitting in her chair in front of the fire, and she smiled and beckoned as Tenten's eyes focused on her pretty face. She smiled easily in return, and walked over to plop into her dad's chair beside her.

"What's up, mom? I came as soon as I heard you calling."

Her mother settled herself further into her chair as she scrutinized her daughter with large emerald eyes. "I'm glad to see you're in a good mood, honey. I need to discuss something with you. Something...pretty important." She had to look away on the last part, and her eyes focused instead on the fire.

Oblivious to her mother's discomfort, Tenten responded in a voice that was light and teasing. 'What is it, mom? Is dad going through another one of his fudge-eating stages?"

Her mother's eyes shifted again. 'Not exactly."

"What is it, then?"

Her mother shifted yet _again_ before she spoke, so that she could look her daughter in the eye. "Tenten, it's your first day of march break, and you have a week off of school. You're in your Junior year now, and you've grown into a very successful and beautiful young lady with many talents. It's time that you started growing up some emotionally, too."

Tenten's mood had sombered as her mother spoke, and now when she replied, her voice was serious. "What are you talking about, mom?"

Hisana actually squirmed as she looked into her daughter's hazel eyes, and her voice fell a couple octaves as she continued. "We're talking about your future here, Tenten. Your father and I have been discussing things for quite some time, and we've decided that it would be in your best interest if a change was made, during your spring break. You aren't going back to Shinobi High next week."

Tenten's mouth gaped open as she gasped in horror. "WHAT!?"

Her mother grimaced, and looked back into the fire. She managed to make her voice firm as she delivered the last sentences. "We've enrolled you into the Konoha Academy of Excellence. It's a boarding school, so you'll be there during the week. You're going so you can get an elite education......and find a good husband. You have until Saturday to break the news to your friends. But don't worry, love. This is a good thing--you'll see."

**Ahha, cliffhanger!! I sense an explosion in the very near future, don't you? ^^ I appreciate reviews, no matter what they say. Sorry this chapter is so short, but I thought it would be best to start it this way. Following chapters will be much longer, I promise. As a last side note: All of my characters will be In Character about 99.83% of the time. So be prepared.**

**Until Next Time,**

**.xXx. Angel .xXx.**


	2. No Effin' Way

**Hello again, everybody. I'm going to take advantage of this little note bubble to explain the rating of my story. TYLE is rated M because much, much later on in the story, there will be some things happening that don't fit in the T rating. There will also be some language, and violence. Please have patience with me--I promise to do my best to please.**

**One last note: If anybody has any ideas for the story they would like to see me use, don't be afraid to show them to me.**

**Ahem...On with the fic!**

**.xXx. Angel .xXx.**

Chapter Two: No. Effin'. Way.

.xXx. Omnicient POV .xXx.

Tenten's jaw practically hit the floor in shock when the last word exited her mother's mouth--she was stunned into complete silence, and all she could do was sit there with her torso twisted to face her mom, small hands balled into frozen fists. Her exotic hazel eyes bored into Hisana's with horrified, disbelieving increduality.

That didn't last very long.

Her mouth snapped shut as shock quickly boiled into outrage. Her hands, already bunched into fists, started white-knuckling. And her eyes went from incredulous to stormy and terrifying.

Her voice snapped out like a whip when she opened her mouth to speak. "When the he--ugh. When did you decide _this_?"

She watched Hisana squirm like a worm on a hook as she waited for an answer, and this time she understood the reason for the guilty light in the green eyes.

"We decided about two weeks ago, when Mrs. Inuzuka showed us a pamphlet for the school when we were at her house. We thought it was a good idea, and she sounded so convincing when she told us what a good establishment it was."

Tenten looked down at her arms in fury, and was surprised not to see any bubbles underneath moving the skin. Why? Her blood was boiling. Why the _hell_ would Kiba's mom get her parents to go for something like this if her own kid wasn't even attending the school!? And why hadn't they told her earlier?! Brief images of homicidal and very illegal acts flashed in front of her eyes. She forced them back down, along with the fury-induced lump in her throat, and spoke again, struggling to control the anger in her voice.

"So you're saying that this has something to do with education....and a man?" Some of the increduality was quickly rising from the dead.

Hisana twisted herself in her seat to face her daughter, and her own small hands balled into fists as she concentrated her energy into getting Tenten to see her side of the situation.

"It has _everything_ to do with those two things, Tenny. This school is for the gifted--which you _are_. It will give you the excellent education you need to pursue any future you want. And to be honest, love, you're getting to be a bit too old to be without any marital prospects. Since Konoha Academy houses the incredibly talented, you'll be able to find plenty of good choices there. You'll be able to find someone who will give you're family name a good reputation, as well as take care of you and support you well in life, later on. Let's face it, dear; the boys at Konoha High are nice, but I don't think any of them are what you're looking for."

A million thoughts were whizzing through Tenten's head as her eyes fluttered shut and she pinched the bridge of her nose to keep from yelling. How did her mother know what she was looking for in a partner? Oh, that's right--she _didn't_. Because she had never mentioned anything like that before to her family. And since when did they get to decide to rip her out of the lifestyle she was perfectly happy with whenever they wanted, and just throw her into some random school where she didn't know anybody?! Didn't they realize what they were doing by making her go through with this? Her education would be disrupted from the switching of schools. She was in the midst of finishing several papers and projects she had to hand in for credits in her classes, which she needed if she wanted to graduate from _anywhere_. And of course, there were her friends. The simple fact of the matter was that she would rather rip her own lungs out than leave them, wether it was of her own choice or induced forcibly. The very thought of doing so now made her lungs contract in something close to hyperventilation, and sour bile rise in the back of her throat.

Tenten didn't say any of these things outloud. She simply continued to pinch her nose between her thumb and forefinger as her eyes snapped open into a glare, which she directed at her mother's beautiful face. One more second of silence, and then she released her nose, cleared her throat out, and opened her mouth to speak.

Her voice was quiet, and yet her mother winced like Tenten had slapped her.

"Why would you do this to me?"

Hisana reached one hand out to place it on Tenten's cheek, and Tenten let her. She stared critically at her mother, assessing the absolute sincerety in her eyes as she got the answer to her question.

"We only want the very best for you, Tenten. It's because we love you. We want to see you have the happiest, fullest future you can have."

Tenten could only sigh in answer to that, and Hisana lowered her hand from her face as she watched her daughter in concern. She decidedly made up her mind to take one last shot at reassuring her.

"I'm sure that this will be a good thing in the end, Tenten. Just wait and see."

Tenten shot up abruptly from her father's chair, putting distance between her and her mother. A bunch of the former heat in her voice returned like lightning as she replied sarcastically and bitingly.

"I really wouldn't count on that if I were you, Mom. But thanks anyway. If it's _okay _with you, I have a phonecall to make now. Seeya." She rolled her eyes as she gave her mother a dismissive salute and then marched out of the room without looking back.

She marched all the way down they're long hallway and to the right, into they're kitchen. The Shinata kitchen looked like something taken straight out of Green Gables in the middle of an Indian Summer. An old, wooden door with latticed sides served as a way out of the house, and it had an old wooden porch with an overhang roof just past it's threshold. Everything in this room was soft green and white paint, pale wood, big windows, an homey appliances. Through the huge windows that were semi-covered by frothy white curtains, you got an excellent view of a beautifully kept yard. In it was the garden that Tadase had planted for his wife when they moved there after their marriage. The entire room was beautiful and old and it seemed to breathe with the magic of the past.

Tenten ignored all of that. She was simply too mad to appreciate it. She stomped right up to where the old white cordless phone was mounted to the wall, reached up, and yanked it off of the hook. She used one sharp, slender finger to furiously punch in the numbers she would need, showing the phone the lack of mercy that she had withheld for her mother. She wrenched the phone up to her ear, and then used her free hand to tear back the bangs hanging in her eyes. She let out a huge sigh that sounded more like a snarl as she waited. After another moment, someone picked up the phone on the other line. It was the right someone.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Inuzuka Veterinary Clinic. How may I help y--"

Her voice was dark and very don't-mess-with-me. "Kiba. It's Tenten. Get your furry ass to my house, _now_. Before I come and _get _you."

Click.

Tenten slammed the poor phone back in it's cradle, and folded her arms over chest. She let out another long sigh, and this one sounded like an actual approximation. Her best friend would be at her front door in ten minutes. All she had to do until then was breathe.

That was when she abruptly remembered her other friends that would be there in about fifteen minutes now. No doubt Ino would be picking Sakura up right now in the new white Porsche her grandpa had given her for earning her liscense. _Crap. Mega Crap._

Tenten went streaking as fast as she could back through the hall and up the stairs, muttering "crap, crap crap!" to herself as she went. She ran through the upstairs hallway back to her room, jumping right over Akusho when he came crawling out of his room with a toy truck. She went soaring through the air and then landed expertly on the balls of her feet, taking off again before her little brother could say a word. She finally made it to her room, and she shut the door behind her as she took another leap across the room for the bed. As soon as her body hit the soft covers, she started rummaging around for the object of her search--her purse. After a few seconds, her fingers closed around the fabric of said purse, and she triumphantly pulled it out from the comforters. Plunging her hand into the bag, she closed her hand around the true object she was seeking--her phone.

She had Ino on speed dial, so she hit a button and then held the black phone to her ear, waiting for the chattiest, most phone-obsessed friend she possessed to pick up her damn phone.

She got what she wanted on the second ring. Ino's loud, catty voice filled the reciever and Tenten's ear.

"Yo, Mojo. It's Ino. What can I do for ya??"

Tenten practically yelled into the phone in response. "INO, YOU DUMBASS! It's ME, Tenten!! And we have A PROBLEM! Get your ass over here, NOW. Kiba will be here in five, and we are LEAVING when you get here. So HURRY up!!"

Ino's voice was high in protest when she responded. "Aw, c'mon Ten! You called Kiba? He's a GUY! This ruins our plans!" She started grumbling.

Tenten was long past the point where she was gonna take any crap. "It's important. Get down here, now."

"Ugh. You know you're _so_--"

"I'll see you in five," Tenten cut her off darkly, and then hung up.

Kiba got there before the girls did. He came driving up in his enormous forest green pick-up truck, stopping in the middle of her huge driveway, which was a patch of dirt and gravel shaped like a circle wrapping around the front and side of her house. He cut the ignition, swung open the door, and sprung lighty down from his seat to the ground. He drove a monster of a truck, so it was quite the distance for someone Tenten's size. Slamming his door shut, Kiba started walking to the house, concern knitting his dark brows together and pulling his full mouth into a frown. Tenten pulled on some flip-flops and then ran out to meet him, purse and phone still in hand. As soon as they met eachother, Tenten had to crane her neck up to look at his face, and he had to look almost all the way down. A recent growthspurt had left Kiba at a gangly six foot two, and then a random burst of non-steroidal muscle growth had filled out his arms, legs and torso. In his T-shirt, jeans, and tan workboots, he looked like a giant converging with a pixie.

And at the moment, the pixie was defenitely the scarier of the two.

Kiba's voice was demanding as he put his huge hands on his hips and looked skeptically at her blazing expression. "Alright Tenten, I'm here, and I had to leave Akamaru with Reitsa. What's going on?"

Before she could answer, Ino came tearing up the road and into the driveway in her Porsche, throwing gravel everywhere as she did so. Judging by the look in her blue eyes when she and Sakura jumped out of the car, some major roadrage had been involved in the journey to get there in time.

Tenten ran to the girls and attacked them in a hug at the exact instant they attacked her. Wordlessly, they all turned and started walking towards Tenten's black pick-up, which was parked to the side. Tenten stopped to dig her keys out of her purse, and throw them to Kiba, who had started to follow them. "You're driving, Kiba," she called out as he expertly snatched the keys out of the air. "We're riding in the cab. Take us to the guy's houses, and when we have everyone, take us out to the old baseball field. I'll explain everything there."

Rounding up the guys was easy. First they went uptown and picked up Shikamaru from the Nara household, who agreed to come as long as he could sleep up front on the way there instead of in the cab. He hadn't been able to sleep for the last couple of nights because he had been writinga deadline essay for Friday, and he hadn't caught up on his sleep yet. The girls ran up to the house to get him, ushered him into the passenger seat up front with Kiba, and then hopped back into the truck bed. Kiba was ordered to step on it, and they went flying through the streets into the downtown slums to Naruto's apartment. Naruto was sitting on his bed in some black boxers, sharpening his Ketsu knives when Tenten and Sakura barged in on him. It only took about a minute's convincing before he threw on some jeans, shoes, an orange t-shirt and a black jacket, and left with the girls. They took a raincheck on the stairs back out of his apartment--they jumped right off of his balcony like the ninjas they were, and then ran back to Tenten's truck. Naruto didn't want to waste any time, so he _threw_ each of the girls into the cab and then lithely hoisted himself inside. Ino was the only one to complain about this, because while the other girls landed lightly on they're feet with no difficulty, she was "caught offguard" and landed on her face.

They're last stop was Sasuke's house, but it was obvious that no one was home as soon as they drove up into the driveway. Ino whipped her phone out at the speed of light, and did some intense three-way speed dialing that Tenten could only roll her eyes at. In about three minutes, Ino stopped screeching into her cellular device and snapped it shut, sliding it into her shorts pocket with a smug grin on her face.

"Anko-sensei said that she saw Sasuke out practicing in Training Ground number four not even ten minutes ago. Let's roll."

Sasuke looked surprised and confused to see all of his best friends rolling up. "What are you guys doing here?"

Tenten's "No-Crap" mood hadn't lightened. "We'll explain when we get to where we're going. Now get your butt in here NOW, Uchiha!!"

Needless to say, Sasuke was jumping into the truck bed in record time, muttering under his breath as he went.

Kiba got them to their destination in no time, pulling into the old parking lot across the fence from the field rosters. Everyone's eyes raked over the scene in front of them with familiar affection. The old ball park served as just that--a diamond, and a park. Rolling, grassy hills flanked by tall, willowy trees made excellent walking paths, and out to the northeast there was a large, open pit of sand with rusty old playground equipment. The diamonds were settled directly in front of them, stretching out to the west, and the food concession stand was out in the south corner, along with the fountains and bathrooms that the players used to change. A few people played a stress-free game of ball on one of the diamonds, and a few went walking through the hilly paths. The playground was empty. This ball park, although still in business, was so old that not many people went there anymore.

It was perfect.

They went walking immediatley to the playground, and set about positioning themselves on the rusty equipment so they could talk. Kiba borrowed Sakura's phone and told his sister Reitsa to let Akamaru out to follow him here, now that he didn't have to worry about fitting his horse-sized dog in the truck.

Tenten was full of sorrow and reluctance as she climbed up to the top of the rusty, wind-bent fireman pole to sit there. She didn't want to tell her friends what was coming next, and the time had come all too quickly. There was no more stalling. She had their full attention, and she was going to have to tell them the truth. Swallowing the re-appearing bile from earlier, she cleared her throat and began.

"Guys, I have something to tell all of you--something bad. Well, okay. Bad is an understatement. This _sucks_."

Naruto's big blue eyes narrowed as he looked up at her from where he was sitting on the ground. "Just tell us, Ten. What is it? Sheesh. It's not like its Ammagedin or anything."

Tenten had to swallow again at the sound of his overly confident and impatient voice. _I wish he was right._

She tried again. "I just had a talk with my mom, a bit before I called you guys. She started saying all these things about how I was a grown-up now, and I had all these talents and potential....."

Her voice was swimming with tears by the end of her sentence, and she had to grit her teeth together and ball her hands into fists as all of her friends looked worriedly at her.

Kiba spoke up from his place on the old twirly slide. "What's so bad about that, Tenten? If you're mom is saying all these great things about you.....shouldn't you be happy?"

The breath wooshed audibly out of her lungs, and she sagged on the old rusty pole in defeat and anger. She couldn't do this--she didn't want to. She didn't want to tell them the truth. She couldn't.

But she had to.

Taking an enormous breath of air and un-clenching her teeth, Tenten let everything out in a woosh of air.

"My parents have decided to send me to a new school. It's called the Konaha Academy Of Excellence or something and they want me to go there to get a good education and some other stuff." She winced at the mention of "other stuff", but kept on going. "They got the idea when Kiba's mom showed them a pamphlet of the place and they decided it would be the best thing to do for me. I only have this week with you guys, and then I'm gonna be living there all week long, cuz' it's a boarding school. I'm never gonna see Shinobi High again." The last of her lungful of air came out with those words, and when she inhaled again, it was half a sob.

For one moment, everyone was shocked into silence, with stunned expressions on their faces. A warm wind blew, and the dying sunlight set fiery tints to their hair and rosy glows to their skin. Tenten thought she would die from having to watch them like that.

And then, at the exact same moment, each and every one of her friends busted out into laughter.

Many emotions rippled through Tenten in that moment, the most dominant being shock. The second most dominant was anger, and _that_ was followed closely by hurt.

"What the hell are you guys laughing about?? Don't you understand what this _means_?!"

Naruto was grinning as he jumped up to where she was sitting and wrapped his strong arms around her in a bone-crushing hug. "Aw, Ten," he crowed as Tenten groaned in protest at his crushing embrace. "That's _really _all you were upset about? This makes things so much easier." He started laughing again. 'I think this has made my day."

Tenten abruptly shoved him off of the pole and into the sand below, and when she yelled down at him, her voice was stung. "Thanks a _lot_, Naruto! I never knew you felt that way about our _friendship_!"

Shikamaru sighed, and spoke for the first time since he had climbed into the front of the truck. "Tenten, Naruto is an idiot. He's not saying that he'll be happy without you. He's _trying_ to explain that this isn't the crisis you think it is."

Kiba chimed in with a broad grin. "In fact, it's just the opposite."

Sakura stood up from her spot in the sand to look up at her friend, and when she spoke, her voice was devious. "It was part of the plan."

Tenten's jaw dropped, and she was too shocked to be angry anymore. "What are you guys _talking _about?" she asked in a gasp.

Kiba's grin impossibly widened as he stood up on the slide he was perched on, spreading his arms out wide in grandeur. "Allow me to explain."

His voice boomed and his dark brown eyes glowed with pleasure and triumph as he commenced.

"I happen to have the smoothest mom on the planet. You see, Tsunade decided a while ago that Shinobi High wasn't gonna cut it for us--she wanted us in a higher class of education, because we where some of her most prized students. Our parents all picked the Konoha Academy Of Excellence, and told us we would be going there after march break. At first, we were all _really _upset; we knew that you were the only one in our group who's parents weren't making you go. But then we made a plan." His eyes glinted mischeiveously as he continued. "We decided that we were going to, er--_influence_ your parent's decisions on where you were going to school after the break. We knew we would need some authorative help, and my mom said she was up for it. All we had to do was use one of the pamphlets we had gotten from the school, and she talked your parents into it." He folded his arms over his chest and his grin turned smug. "It was a piece of cake."

Tenten was fairly sure that her brain was about to explode in her skull. Her mind was reeling, and her mouth was still hanging open. Impossibly, she snapped it back shut, and just sat there for a moment, not even remembering to breathe. Too many things were occuring to her at once.

She didn't have to leave her friends--because they were coming with her. To this new school. And she wouldn't have to go alone now. And Kiba's mom was the coolest person on earth. And......

Her hackles started to raise in indignation as the last realization dawn on her. _And they had never told her! they had let her sweat all this time, when they could have told her weeks ago!!!_

She slipped down from the pole and hopped onto the slide as sleekly as a deer, and her grace never faltered as she jumped right onto Kiba, knocking them both into the sand below.

Before he could recover, she sat on him and closed her hands around either side of his neck. She started to ring, shakinh her hands and thus his _head _up and down a little with each syllable.

"You never told me, you baka!! You could have told me anywhere along the way this entire time, and you didn't! Why the hell did you do this to me?"

Kiba did his best to reply while the air was strangled out of him. "Didn't...want to give you.....false hope...can't...breathe...Tenten!"

The look on his face was more than she could take. She collapsed into laughter, rolling off of him and onto her back in the sand, clutching at her sides and crying her eyeliner off. She was so relieved, she couldn't stop. Everything was going to be fine. She had all of her best friends with her, and they didn't have to say good-bye. Everything would be okay. She felt as if she could fly.

Her friends let her laugh, all of them sporting huge, happy grins and affectionate eyes as they watched. When she finally tired herself out and had to stop to replenish her air, Kiba got back up off of the ground, brushed himself off, and offered her his hand to help her up as well.

Quiet now, she let him hoist her up, and then she turned towards the rest of her friends, who were still smiling and watching her. She asked them a serious question.

'Why did you guys try so hard to take me with you?"

Naruto snorted and rolled his eyes at her. 'Don't be stupid, Tenten. What kind of friends would we be if we left you at Shinobi alone?" He answered his own question. "The kind that I throw into wells."

Sasuke's voice was quiet but sincere as he shared his input and spoke for the first time. "We didn't want to go without you."

Tenten's heart filled, and for a moment she felt like crying again. But this time, they were tears of joy and gratitude. She hadn't done a single thing to deserve the kind of friends she had.

She made her voice booming and cheerful as she announced "well boys, you can survive one night on my basement floor. Who's coming for the sleep over??"

Four large hands went shooting into the air a second later.

Tenten smiled, and wordlessly started walking towards her truck, with her girls right behind her. The spring was back in her step, and she enjoyed the sunset on her skin and the wind on her face. This time, she was driving.

**Okay, like I promised, it was longer. Sorry about the OOC stuff--like I said, 99.83% of the time, they'll be In Character. You'll see. I'm trying to decide wether Sasuke lives by himself, or with Itachi.....any opinions? Let me know. I also want you're opinions on the future pairings once the people get into the academy.**

**Reviews?? Just hit the big button. And I'll love you forever. Seriously. ^^**

**.....Okay. I just creeped myself out.**

**Anyway. Until Next Time,**

**.xXx. Angel .xXx.**


	3. Setting Off

**Alright, so like I promised, this is the first of now regular updates of TYLE. I'm really excited about this chapter because it sets up the layout for the story, so I did my very best. Let me know what you think by reviewing or sending me messages. **

**I'm going for a very specific set of personality for the characters, without making them seem childish OR completely OOC. Enjoy :)**

**.xXx. Angel .xXx.**

Chapter Three: Setting Off.

.xXx. Tenten's POV .xXx.

As soon as I found out that I wouldn't be all alone in the new school I was going to, I calmed down considerably, and started to actually think of some of the _positive _aspectsof the situation. I was seventeen, going to a school for excellence, with all of my best friends. I was going to be living in a new home away from my family eighty percent of the time, sure. But it could be an adventure. It wasn't any sweat of _my_ ass that they expected me to find a man—I was in no hurry to do anything of the sort. I could have fun with my friends, and get an excellent education while doing it. Besides, there were lots of things about Shinobi High that I was definitely _not _going to miss.

Like all the idiots.

.xXx. Omniscient POV .xXx.

It was the last day of spring break, and Tenten was staring irritably at the four brand new, empty suitcases lying on her black comforter, all open and ready to be filled with her belongings. Her spring break with her friends had flown by seemingly at the speed of light, and in exactly one day, she would be starting her new life at the Konoha Academy of Excellence. Problem: a little thing called procrastination was now biting her viciously in the ass. Her closet and dresser were empty; she had frantically thrown everything in them onto her red carpet earlier that morning. All of her shoes and sandals were thrown into one corner of the room. Her make-up and jewelery were in a jumble on top of her dresser. In short, her room was a disaster.

She was contemplating setting the whole pile ablaze when her mother knocked on the door and then pushed it open, smiling at what she saw. Hisana's daughter was a complete mess; Tenten's long auburn hair was in a sloppy bun with stray hairs flying everywhere, and there was a crazed glint in her hazel eyes. She was wearing a navy tank top that was oddly crooked on her torso, with her gray cotton sleep shorts. And for some reason, she had one yellow ankle sock on.

Stifling her laughter, Hisana approached her daughter, who was standing in the middle of the room in front of her small mountain of a wardrobe.

"Good morning, Tennie. It looks like you could use some help."

Tenten groaned. "Mom, how the hell am I supposed to get this done? Ino and Sakura will be here in two hours to pick me up." She stomped her one socked foot on the ground, and then sighed. "I'm such an idiot."

This time, her mother couldn't help but laugh. "Only occasionally, sweetie. Now, let me help you. If we both pitch in, we'll just make it, and you'll be packed with maybe...mm...thirty seconds to spare."

Tenten had to smile at that.

"Deal."

In the next few minutes, Tenten was folding clothes and putting them in the first suitcase, while her mother put all of her cosmetics and jewelery into plastic zip-lock bags. She wasn't paying much attention to the clothes passing through her hands—tank tops, skinny jeans, sweat pants, old band t-shirts, cut off denim shorts, and several oversized thick hoodies. She was too preoccupied thinking about what the Konoha Academy of Excellence would be like. She hadn't yet been told where it was; all she knew was that Ino's mother Risa had hired a chauffeur to drive them to the location, which Ino knew and all of the others didn't. Herself, Ino and Sakura would be getting delivered to the school limo-style, while Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and Sasuke would be getting _flown_ to their destination by Itachi's luxury private jet. It wasn't a surprise to Tenten when she had been told; it was no secret to anyone that the Uchiha brothers had money. Itachi had gone into corporate business for communications technology shortly after the slaughter of his clan, and was now a millionaire. His motive had been to provide for Sasuke, and as a result, the kid could have anything he ever wanted. It _certainly _made him popular with the girls...

Tenten was snapped abruptly out of her reverie by more of her mother's laughter. She looked down to see what she was laughing about and saw that she had been pawing at the empty bed cover, having folded all of her clothes and put them into two of the four suitcases.

At that, she had to crack a smile, and when she turned to her mother, she saw sudden tears in Hisana's eyes. "Mom, why are you crying? What's the matter?" Tenten's voice was panicky. What was wrong with her mother? When Hisana spoke, her voice was even, but quiet.

"I'm just thinking about what life's going to be like without you once you're gone five days a week. It's definitely going to be different." Her voice cracked a little. "I'm going to miss you, baby girl."

Tenten suddenly couldn't speak around the huge, hot lump in her throat, and her eyes quickly filled with tears. Her mother wasn't the only one upset about the change. No matter how optimistic she was about going to a new school with her friends, she was going to miss her family.

"Momma.." Tenten's voice failed her, and in the next second, she was in her mother's arms.

Yes, this was definitely going to be hard.

_~*4:00 PM, Tuesday*~_

Tenten's four matching gray and blue suitcases were packed and waiting by the front door when Ino's limo pulled into the driveway, right on time. Tenten had the door opened just in time for her two best friends to come clambering through it excitedly, practically running eachother over in the attempt to reach Tenten in their frenzy.

"C'mon, Buns. We have new territory to explore here!" Ino's voice was as loud and catty as it got, and the blonde was practically vibrating with excitement. A moment later, Sakura joined in with her own excited chatter.

"She's right, Tennie! Aren't you totally freaked? We've gotta go right away, because the boys are already going to beat us there as it is and we have to have time to get settled and then do some exploring." The pink-haired girl's eyes shone with excitement, and it stirred up some of the old excitement Tenten had felt before the scene with her mother.

"Alright, alright, guys. I just have to say goodbye." Doing her best to remain calm, Tenten turned around to face her family, who were all standing in a line to see her off. She started by walking up to her father, who was at the beginning of the line.

"I guess I'll see you in a few days, Pa," she said softly as she looked up into her father's brown eyes. Silently, wistfully, she wished he could come with her. Tadase wasted no time in scooping her up into a bone-crushing hug. "Take care of yourself, kiddo." His voice was gruff, but Tenten was experienced in her father's ways, and she could hear the tears underneath his tough facade. He gave her one of her favorite lopsided grins, and then put her back down on the floor so she could move on to her mother.

Hisana stood at her full height, and she was just taller than Tenten. Her mother gazed intently into her eyes for a few moments, and then brushed back a stray lock of hair that had escaped Tenten's casual up-do. She kissed her on the forehead, and then murmered "I love you, sweetheart. Stay safe." Tenten's eyes started to water, and it was all she could do to choke out "Love you too, mom," and stumble on to the next person, her brother Daichi. The boy had his arms crossed, and his face looked disapproving. Tenten didn't know what to say to him. But thankfully, he broke the silence.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do without you, kid." His voice sounded slightly peeved, but Tenten thought she caught a hint of a smile under his initial tone. Then he broke into a grin. "I wish you luck. Who knows, maybe you won't totally bomb this." Tenten smacked him, then gave him a hug, and moved on to Karin.

The girl's face was stormy, and she was avoiding eye contact with Tenten, so she knew immediately that her younger sister was upset. "I'm going to miss you, Karin," she started out tentatively.

The younger girl's face scrunched a little. "Yeah, well, good luck with you're fancy new school. I'll be perfectly capable of holding down the fort without you."

Tenten had to smile. "Yeah, I know you will. I'm sure you'll do great."

Karin finally met her eyes, and her gaze was scorching. "Seeya later, sis."

That hug was bone-crushing, too.

When Tenten came to Ria and Akusho, they were holding hands. Tenten bent down onto her knees to look them both in the eye before she spoke to them.

"I want both of you to behave while I'm gone, okay? I'll be back before you miss me."

It was Ria who piped up. "But Tennie, I'm gonna mish you as soon as your gone." Her little lower lip trembled.

Tenten felt a pang as her heart went out to the little girl, and when she spoke, her voice had a quaver. I'll think of you all the time, Ri-Ri. You too, 'Kusho. You can call my cell anytime you want, okay?"

She was met with two huge pairs of innocent hazel eyes that practically made her heart melt. "Pwomise?"

She had to fight another throat lump to reply. "I promise."

After one last round of hugs from everyone, she couldn't put it off any longer, and she allowed her hyper-spastic friends to shuffle her out the door with all of her suitcases. When they got to the limo, the chauffeur took her bags and opened the storage trunk at the back of the vehicle to add them to the pile. When Tenten took a look inside, her jaw dropped.

_Typical Ino._

Beside Sakura's four pink suitcases, there were _eight _matching white and blue suitcases, all monogrammed with the name _Yamanaka Ino _in rhinestones along the side. Her posh, wealthy friend was bringing literally _twice _as much along with her then Tenten and Sakura. Tenten could do nothing but shake her head, and Sakura was just as exasperated. She rolled her eyes at Tenten and said "what did you expect? We have a princess on board."

Ino wasn't ruffled by the comment in the slightest, and hurriedly pushed the girls into the passenger booth of the limo, closing the door behind her.

The inside of the limo was just as posh as the family who owned it. The seating arrangement was almost a complete circle, with a break in the plush grey seating for the door allowing people to climb inside. Small circular dish-lights followed the seating pattern up on the ceiling, providing warm, cozy yellow light for the interior of the booth. There was a glass coffee table in the center of the circle with built in cup-holders and slide out convenience trays, and hanging up against the glass seperator dividing them from the driver's cab was a thirty inch plasma screen TV. The lights were necessary because almost no light outside filtered in through the windows—they were tinted almost pitch black. A built in compartment under one of the many seats in the circle held a mini fridge, and when she and Sakura opened it, they found Pepsi and chocolate bars.

Tenten was completely blown away by the grandeur, and when she spoke, her voice was faint. "How much did this _cost?_"

Ino's voice was brazen and breezy. "Not too much. This is how we're going to go to and from the school every weekend." She beamed at her friends, obviously very pleased with herself.

Tenten could see that Sakura had already been hit with this news, because she only stared with huge eyes at Tenten, observing her response.

"Holy crap." It was the only thing Tenten could manage to mutter. Ino turned her attention to the chauffeur sitting in the drivers seat. "Simmons, let's roll."

The limousine was driving smoothly away from her house in no time, and instead of looking out her _very_ dark window, Tenten settled into the soft back of her seat and dug into her patchwork boho bag, retrieving her sleek cellphone with the peacock blue casing a few seconds later. She slid out the keyboard and contented herself with composing a text message to her family. She addressed it to her mother's phone, and then started writing.

_Off I go, into the wilderness. Haha, kidding. I'm super excited. I'll miss all you guys like crazy. Text you again when I get there. Love you lots. -Ten._

In a matter of minutes, all three girls were mowing down Br. Bigs and cans of Pepsi, watching an episode of _One Tree Hill_, to Ino's insistence. Tenten couldn't pay very close attention to what was on the screen; she was thinking about her family, and wondering where they were. When the episode finally ended, both Tenten and Sakura pushed their noses up against the glass so they could see outside, and after a minute of acting like she was too dignified to do the same, Ino gave in and joined them.

Konohagakure was near the border of the fire country, and the limo was taking them into a more rural environment than their hometown. The houses became farther and farther spread apart, with rolling expanses of lush green in between, until they were miles apart. Occasionally they would see a guy on a tractor, or a group of little kids chasing after a couple of chickens. Apart from that though, it was undisturbed scenery and silence. They drove for the better part of two hours, and through Ino's complaining about the trip taking too long and wanting to explore, a new sound hit the girl's ears. It was the sound of water. Of waves. They were close to the coast of the fire country, at the edge of the sea separating them from the water country. Soft rolling hills were preventing them from actually seeing the water, but they could hear it gently crashing against the coast.

After a few more minutes of driving, Tenten was ready to pull her hair out. The suspense was driving her crazy—were they going to transfer to some sort of super-posh Yamanaka Yacht at the water's edge and go motoring across the freaking ocean? She was about to open her mouth and say something when the black glass divider in front of them slid apart, TV converging into the wall, and Simmons gave them a knowing smile. "It's just around the corner now, ladies. I suggest you prepare yourselves." Tenten only had one more second to wonder, and then Simmons pushed a button on the dashboard. The tint on the windows diminished to nothing, giving them a clear and colorful view, and then the limousine was rounding the last curve in the road.

What she saw took her breath away.

They were coming up a long, winding dirt road that went up a large hill. A vast expanse of lush green meadow was on either side of the road, and continued most of the way up the hill. The hill did not have a descent—it ended in a jagged cliff that met the ocean below. The sun was just setting over the water, and it left a glittery blazing trail down the calm waves crashing gently against the cliff face as far as the eye could see.

The scenery was beautiful, but it wasn't the main source of Tenten's astonishment. It was the academy itself—it was _magical_. The road winding up to it was unpaved, until it hit a large, old fashioned grey-stone courtyard, with four low stone walls fencing in the area and a large wrought iron gate at the enormous entrance, which was currently open. The courtyard was decorated with vibrantly colorful flowers, both in large stone pots and hanging from stone pillars placed at equal intervals down the length of the courtyard. There were stone benches built against the walls with stone flower pots to compliment them, and in the center, there was a magnificent stone fountain with three tiers, water gushing from the top and falling back down into the basins below like a series of waterfalls.

As they approached the school, Tenten ignored the excited squealing of her friends and took in more details. The building was massive, and it looked like two mansions had been cut in half and then put together; the front half was made of red russet bricks, and was connected directly to the courtyard by a massive grey-stone staircase leading up to the main entrance of the school—two enormous oak doors that had to be twenty feet tall. The face of the school had many long, elegant thin windows displaying intricate panes, and a giant circle of stained glass directly above the main entrance. Through the stained glass, Tenten could just barely make out a very grand, elaborate staircase, leading upwards into the school.

Turning her attention back to the outside of the building, she noted that halfway through the body of the school, the brick cut off completely. The roof, although still shingled in the same dark, rough shingles, spiked up several feet, and the difference was made of old looking timbers of oak wood. After that, the back half of the house was made completely of creamy white _marble, _laced with streaks of pearl and silver. Secondary doors were on either side of the school on this half, and long wooden staircases led down onto the back side of the hill, close to the cliff drop, where there were multiple grassy landings. And instead of long narrow windows, the _entire _back wall of the house was made of a mirror reflecting back the image of the sea and sky behind it.

It was like a fairytale—so perfect that Tenten was afraid to breathe, in case it disappeared.

Sakura had scooted next to Tenten in order to get a better side-view of the school, unlike Ino, who was practically foaming at the mouth with excitement, babbling about sight seeing and exploring. Simmons had reached the open wrought iron gate, and they drove into the courtyard, which served as a ring-shaped driveway for the school. Once they were up close, they noticed four small figures on the main staircase; the boys, waiting for them. All three girls spilled out of the limo and ran to their friends, while Simmons flipped open a cellphone and made arrangements for the luggage to be brought into the school. Tenten was the only one to think to look back and wave goodbye to the older man, and he gave her a crooked smile and a salute before turning his back to continue his conversation.

The boys didn't meet them half way, but that suited the girls just fine. They went running up the staircase as fast as they could, and when they finally met up, a conversation started about where to go first, what to look at, who to talk to, registration and arrival notification, getting timetables...and of course, Shikamaru wanted to know about getting some food. After a couple minutes, the herd charged up the stairs and up to the double doors.

"Wait!" Naruto's voice was loud and commanding, and everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Whaaat?" Ino's voice was whiny and impatient, and she crossed her arms in frustration; Tenten had to smirk.

Naruto continued on. "This is a special moment. I think she take a minute to admire what we're about to go walking into."

Everyone stared at him, shocked that the usually energetic and adventure-loving blonde was being so profound. Maybe out of pure shock, they stayed staring at the heavy polished oak in front of them for a minute.

Taking advantage of the brief pause in their quest, Tenten grabbed her phone out of her bag again and fired off another text to her mother's phone.

_Finally got here! You guys would not BELIEVE the this place—it's amazing! I've only seen the outside, but so far, I love what I'm seeing! I'm sure the inside is going to be just as mind-blowing. I'll send pics later, promise. -Ten_

She slipped the phone shut and put it back in her bag, not having any idea what kind of a shock she was in for.

**And...that's a wrap.**

**This is where the ball starts rolling..plus, I love leaving people in suspense :)**

**Tell me what you think, R&R, leave me messages. Oh, and if you're into Twilight, be sure to check out my other two stories. Theres My Golden Eyed Future, about Alice and Jasper, and The Black Flower, about Renesmee and Jacob. Hope you enjoyed ^^**

**.xXx. Angel .xXx.**


	4. Welcome To Prepville

**Alright, so I know I broke my promise, again. And I'll be surprised if I have any readers at all at this point. But the reason I didn't update weekly like I said I would is because times have been hard for my family, and we didn't have money for internet for a long time. Things are looking up now, so I'm writing to all of you once again :) If you read this, thank you for standing by me.**

**On with the fic.**

**.xXx. .**

Chapter Four: Welcome To Prepville.

.xXx. Neji's POV .xXx.

Kami, I hate this fucking school. There isn't a single person in it I would mind seeing dead. If I have to come here for my final year, I'm going to set the whole damn place on fire.

It would rid the world of about six hundred idiots.

.xXx. Omniscient POV .xXx.

When Ino pushed open the two heavy oak doors and the group rushed inside the school, Tenten was expecting something similar to the outside of the school; old and quirky, but charming and soft.

What she _did_ see really surprised her.

Even though the outside of the school was clearly square-like in shape, on the inside of the building the bricks had been built in a thick circular formation, so the room was carved into a large circle, walled with the same russet brick as the outside of the building. On two opposing sides of the circular room, the walls were adorned with long silver tapestries that almost touched the floor. On these tapestries was what was obviously the academy's coat of arms; a stark white doe clashing with a pitch black male panther in what could either be combat, or a graceful dance. The doe was adorned with small blue flowers, and the panther with white stars. They were encircled in a wreath made of darker silver leaves, and underneath the two animals was the school motto: _to see, all one must do is open their eyes._

The floor was magnificent, as well. It was made of smooth, speckled gray tile, a complicated pattern of lighter shale and darker charcoal tiles, surrounding silvery marble pieces cut into diamond shapes in evenly spaced intervals throughout the floor. The patterns shifted in direction, so that no matter where a person stood in the room, the points of each marble diamond pointed toward the grand staircase.

Two large and very long hallways branched off diagonally from the far end of the room, on either side of the huge staircase that was directly opposite the oak doors. They were tiled with the same tile as the entryroom, and the walls were continually russet brick. However, if you looked closely from where the group stood at the main doors, you could see rows of smaller, academic style doors going down both sides of the hallway. In the left hallway, the first door to the right had a small address post hanging from the top of the door jamb that read "Main Office", so the gang headed tentatively in that direction.

Upon closer inspection as she neared them, Tenten realized that the doors were the entryways to some of the classrooms. There were small numbers bolted to the fronts, with thin vertical panes of glass on the far sides serving as windows to look into the classrooms from the hallway. She couldn't identify what subject was taught in the one room she saw beore they were turning into the main office, and she soon forgot about the classroom entirely as she was swept up into the busy tempo of the main administrative office.

The room was a fair size and painted a homey buttercup yellow to maximize the space in the room, but mountains of files and jungles of computers and their accompanying desks made the space seem cozy, if not hectic. Administrative secretaries and they're multiple assistants occupied every desk, and the secretaries were typing furiously away on their keyboards, speaking in rushed and urgents tones to the assistants, who were jotting notes, taking numbers, clearing away leftover dinner dishes off of the desks, and fetching mug after mug of coffee. Photocopiers were copying at a frenzy, and several fax machines and telephones were ringing at once, so there was never a quiet moment. The back wall was hung with slightly crooked pictures in a long row, and although Tenten didn't recognize any faces, the brass nameplates bolted underneath each picture told her that they were famous painters, scientists, philosophers, doctors, and professors that had either taught at or helped to fund the school, ranging from many years ago to the present.

Tenten was mesmerized with the faces on the wall until a moment later, when a drawling, maternal voice called out from ahead. "Anything you dearies need today? Hmmm?"

She focused her gaze at the biggest desk of them all, a desk that wasn't even really a desk, but a long counter that stretched across the width of the room, blocking people other than staff from heading into the work area. It was a pleasant but standard marbled blue, gray and pink, and held cups of pens and pencils, boxes of kleenex, and other office must-haves, right down to a jar of mints. A brand new computer was sitting on the second tier of the desk-counter to the left, and on the right there was another bimungous pile of school and student files, some flipped open and color tabbed. Sitting amonst it all was the source of the voice that had called to them.

Sitting right behind a small name plate on the desk that read "Head Secretary of Administrations" was a plump, matronly figure who appeared to be in her early fifties. She was obviously short, not coming up much past the counter, but despite this fact, she had an air of regality about her, as if she personally believed she ruled the place. Tenten's belief was backed up by the smart way the woman was dressed, in a salmon colored power suit that consisted of a tailored suitjacket and skirt over top a frilly cinched blouse that was a soft, baby pink color. Her face was round, and framed in a sharp, short bob of dark brown hair that didn't have a single gray strand in it. Her soft, doughy flesh was etched with the beginnings of wrinkles, and she had some steady crow's feet around her sharp, assessing brown eyes. She had small, half moon glasses perched on the edge of her pert little nose, and her lips were pursed and colored a deep pomegranate color. Her chin folded softly down and connected in a small, fleshy bag with her neck, which was encased in a string of classic pearls that matched the ones in her ears.

The sight of this woman seemed to close up Tenten's windpipe, and she couldn't utter a sound. The rest of her friends seemed to be inflicted with the same problem, and it was Ino who gathered herself first and walked up to the desk. The rest of them shuffled behind her, staring at the woman while trying to look like they weren't staring.

The woman spoke again, this time slightly irritated, and Tenten noticed that the voice had a queenly ring to it.

"Do you young ones need help with anything? I don't have all day..."

"Um. Yes. Registration." Ino managed to squeak out the words, and the rest of them nodded their heads dumbly up and down, still entranced.

The woman's face lit up. "Oh my, more newcomers! Alright then, dears, you'll have to be told a few of the basics. My name is Nobuko Kyri, but you can just call me Nobuko-chi. I'm the head secretary in this office, as you can see, and I'm in charge of all administrations to the school each year, so you've come to the right place." She beamed up at them, showing off small, polished pearly teeth, and then continued. "You're all going to have to sign the registration form, dears. I have to incorporate you into the school's information system!" She reached under her desk and pulled out a clipboard with some papers on it, grabbed a pen out of the nearest jar, and handed the clipboard to Kiba with one plump, heavily jewelled and manicured hand. He seemed to have recovered the initial shock of seeing her, and took the clipboard quickly, scribbling down his information before passing it to Shikamaru.

"I'm going to have to designate your dorm quarters, arrange your timestables and give you a copy of each, plus a map of the school." She started typing furiously for a few moments on her keyboard, and the photocopier roared to life once again, beeping frantically as it purged out a pile of papers.

"I already had notification of you're arrival over the break, of course, so I already have it all arranged..." she seemed to be muttering to herself now more so than speaking to them, but then her head snapped back up and she smiled again. "This will just be a moment."

The clipboard had made it to Tenten on the far end of the group, and she grabbed it, filling out the questions it asked. Her address, her home phone, her mom's cell phone, her date of birth, her old highschool, her lack of allergies, and a few others. By the time she was done, the secretary was passing out papers to the individuals they belonged to, speaking as she did so. "The dorm placements are co-ed, so you're neighbors could be the opposite or same sex as the people in your dorm, but the dorm occupants are all the same gender. The dorms are on the second floor, the farthest corridors to the left and right, and then the other half of the classrooms are in between. You'll notice that the upper floor classrooms are smaller than this floor's, to make enough room for you to live comfortably. There is internet connection via computer in each dorm room, and any laptops you may have will be able to access the school's internet. You can find the cafeteria at the end of either hallway on this floor, and it's open twenty four hours a day. During scheduled mealtimes you can eat hot, but outside of meal times you can only purchase cold, packaged, or simple food items." She had come to Shikamaru with his papers, and she looked more than a little disturbed at the wild and desperate glint in his eyes that had set in at the mention of food.

She handed Sakura her papers, and then Tenten recieved hers. She looked down at the paper in her hands and saw a map of the school, and it revealed to her that the school was much larger on the inside than it appeared to be on the outside. What appeared to be a stately mansion was actually more than that; some classrooms had twisting side halls that led to other classrooms beside them, and there were several small, hard to notice exits onto the school's outer grounds. Tenten could see on the map that when they were driving in, she had only been able to see three sides of the school, and that the side she hadn't seen was dedicated to the school's athletes; there was a soccer field, a tennis court, a track field that doubled as a football field, and two basketball courts. On the upper floor she saw that there was an observatory that led up from the science classroom specializing in weather patterns. The school was enormous.

She flipped to the next page, and saw her dorm room assignment. She was stationed halfway down the hall in the left, or "East" dorm hall, on the left side of the hallway. As soon as Ino had been handed her papers, the three girls huddled together, comparing dorm assignments. There was a collective groan; Ino and Tenten had been placed together, but Sakura was kitty-corner to them, down one door and across the hall. The pack had been divided. Barely—but still divided. The girls had only seconds to grumble about this inconvenience before the boys were clammering for their attention.

Kiba, and Naruto had been placed together and were only three doors down from Tenten and Ino on the same side of the East dorm hall. However, Sasuke and Shikamaru had been placed far away—the last dorm room door in the West dorm hall.

After the hoots, hollers and grumbles had died down, the secretary that Tenten somehow couldn't convince herself to call "Nobuko-chi" cleared her throat regally, and made her next announcement. "You'll find your mealtime schedule on your timestable papers. Dinner is in about an hour, and the students will all collaborate in the cafeteria to eat. Until then, we request that you go straight to your dorms and settle down, no exploring for now. Normally the headmaster would make the traditional welcome speech during dinner today, but she's been tied up in other affairs and isn't at the school presently. Because of this, we expect golden behaviour, and no roaming." She eyed each of the seven friends sternly and seriously.

This disappointment hit Ino harder than anyone else, and although the friends continued to chatter on their way out of the office and upstairs to the dorms, Ino was uncharacteristically silent. There was a slump in her slight shoulders, and a defeated look in her usually competetive blue eyes. Soon the friends had to seperate; Sasuke and Shikamaru waved a parting salute before heading for the hallway to the right, and the rest of the gang headed for their rooms to the left. They didn't see a single other person on their trek, and although they could clearly har the voices of other people in their dorms, they didn't make themselves visible even once. Tenten and Ino located they're dorm room, and the boys went three doors down to theirs, busting through the door and leaving the two girls alone.

Tenten shifted her purse off of her shoulder as she stared her new habitat in the face. The words "East 23rd" were bolted in brass to the front of the deep mahogany solid wood door, and the colors set off beautifully with the sparkling gray tiles that seemed to be continuous throughout the whole school. Directly across from her was East 24th, beside her East 25th. Sakura's new home was East 26th, and the cherry blossom had already disappeared into it. Tenten realized there was nothing to do now but go inside. She hesitantly lifted her hand up to the polished doorknob, looked at Ino, and then turned it, opened the door, and slipped inside.

What she saw made her drop her purse and her jaw simultaneously, and she disctinctly heard Ino's breathe sharply cut off as her friend stopped breathing.

It was like a chic, mini rave, transformed into a bedroom. The tile cut off the moment the threshold was crossed, replaced by about three feet of cabana style linoleum to put shoes at the door, and from there the floor was covered in a thick, golden shag style carpet. The tiny hallway opened up into the main room of the dorm, where most of the "living" was done. It was a spacious area, with four cream colored walls thrown into a buttery yellow shade by the chic bubble lamps on either side of the greeting hall, bolted in the upper corners of the far wall, and beside each set of bunkbeds, one pushed up against either side of the wall vertically.

The overhead light was off, so things were cast into shadow, but colors were still easy to see, according to Tenten's excited eyes. There were four beds in total, which meant she and Ino would be living with two other girls. On the bunk to the left of the greeting hall, there was a luxorious white bedspread on the top bunk, and a contrasting, magnificent black one on the bottom. Around the small corner the greeting hall created on the left side was the closet for that half of the room, a grandeous walk in with mahogany wood accents, twelve drawers for storing clothes, a long, polished mahogany table surface for makeup and accessories, and a mirror in which to stand and preen.

On the right side of the room, the bunk's bedspreads were reversed, with the sultry black on top and the dreamy white on the bottom. In between the two bunks up against the wall farthest from the door was a large black and aqua stereo, surrounded by a litter of CD's. Around the other small corner the greeting hall made was the closet for that side of the room, identical to the one on the left, save for the things hanging in it. Both closet doors were covered not by a mahogany door like the front one, but by a curtain of solid wooden rosary beads. The closets were a few feet in front of the foot of each bunk, and then led to the adjoining wall.

The wall was cut short on this half of the room, as it left a wide open doorway into what was obviously a classy kitchenette, containing the same cabana linoleum as the greeting hall and the same creamy walls as the bedroom. There was a mahogany and stainless steel counter top, with a built in range and oven, over head and under hand cupboards, and a double sided sink that lived right beside the toaster, microwave, blender, and unfathomably, espresso machine. Up against the wall beside it was a standard industrial fridge, cool, sleek, and completely stainless steel. The bowl-style over head light was on, casting flourescent light down onto everything in the room, and allowing the two girls to see another mahogany wooden door which was closed, but obviously led into the bathroom.

Tenten was dumbfounded by the glorious sight of her new home, and it took her a moment to realize two things: firstly, that her and Ino's bags were already here, piled neatly and professionally againt the back wall alongside the stereo, and secondly, that there were already another girl's belongings strewn about. The closet to the right was partially full, the stereo was quietly playing a SuperChic(k) CD, and there was an orange tassled purse thrown haphazardly onto the white bottom bunk.

"Look, Ten, everything is here, and someone beat us to the dorm." Ino's voice was hushed, and the girls took tentative steps forward. They were in front of their luggage when they heard the distinct sound of a toilet flushing and the bathroom door opening.

There was a voice behind them, slightly husky, yet melodious and good natured, tinged with sarcasm.

"So, you're finally here. Took you two long enough."

They whirled around to see a girl the same age as them standing there, hands on hips, a smirk on her pretty face. She stood a couple inches taller than Tenten, putting her at about an even height with Ino. This girl had rebellious good looks—wildly thick hair that was about shoulder length, sandy blonde, and tied up into four large ponytails on her head, making her look decidedly badass. She had a coy, teasing smile and a slight smattering of freckles along the bridge of her cute little nose, the only blemishes on her pale skin. She had fierce but teasing eyes that were large and emerald green, and she was dressed casually in white denim shorts and a dark blue KISS t-shirt.

Tenten was actually the first to speak, this time; her posh best friend was clearly out of sorts with this spunky girl who was much like herself, if looks were any giveaway.

"Hey. My name is Tenten...just Tenten. And this is my friend, Yamanaka Ino. We live here, I guess." She tilted her chin up at the girl, and then smiled. "You got a name?"

"Temari. Just Temari." The girl's smirk widened, and her eyes turned briefly assessive, and then relaxed. She must have decided she liked Tenten, because her smirk widened into a grin and she continued. "I'm from Suna, and we don't really have last names...but ah well. Welcome to the show." She spread her arms wide around her, and then dropped them back down, the smirk firmly in place again. "This is my second year here, so I pretty much know the drill." She looked them up and down, smiling some more. This girl was _clearly _either good natured, or found them laughable.

"Bathroom's where I just came from, obviously. Bottom bunk on the right is mine—other than that, go nuts. If you want help unpacking, I'd be happy to help. Theres a place to store the suitcases up in the top of each closet." She waved her hands at them as if to say 'go, be free' and then gracefully folded herself down onto the floor in a crosslegged position, staring up at them unabashedly with her bold green eyes.

"Hm." Ino made a decisive sound, and took a slow step forward. Tenten casually walked up beside her, grabbed her smallest suitcase, and staired at the available beds. She was somewhat hesitant to sleep above this girl she had just met, but she didn't want a bottom bunk, and she decidedly liked black _way _better than white. So she silently told herself to buck up and act like a ninja, and then threw the suitcase onto the black bedspread, climbing easily up into the bed.

Ino squealed excitedly.  
"Ten, if you're doing top bunk, then we're totally doing top bunks together." She threw her first suitcase enthusiastically up onto the white bed across the room and then scampered up.

So that was settled.

Temari was seemingly a pretty chill person, and she wound up easing herself into their work efforts with no trouble, helping them along as they unpacked and making casual conversation. Tenten found out that she had two brothers at the academy, and that she was the oldest of the three. She was an avid cook, and studying to become a red seal chef.

With all three girls working together, they were finished unpacking with a few minutes to spare before dinner. All of Tenten's clothes were either folded or hanging up in the closet along with Temari's, filling it up nicely. All of her jewellry, accessories, makeup and nailpolish were living in harmony beside Temari's, and the hair products had a space of their own, along with Temari's detangler, volumizer, and stiffening gel. Her CD collection was lying beside Temari's, and her cellphone, purse, and green sleeping bag were all on her bed.

Ino's things had actually taken almost twice as much time to unpack as her own; the closet to the left of the room was now three quarters full of wardrobe, hair care, bling and makeup. There was a small place in both closets for natural beauty supplies: mud packs, skin creams, facial ingredients, pore strips, and in Ino's case, an eyelash curler, eyebrow stencil, and even hemorroid cream to reduce eye swelling.

What a princess.

Right before dinner was supposed to start, Tenten changed out of her travel clothes and into something she felt was better suited for dinner; a pair of burnt orange yoga cargoes and a sky blue tank top that said "In Kashmi I Trust." She redid her bun and messed it up the way she liked it, pinning her long bangs up with bobby pins, and then slipped on a pair of cork flip flops before walking downstairs with Ino and Temari.

The cafeteria was easy to find, not only because of the secretary's directions, but because of the flow of kids headed there. As the three girls merged in with traffic, Tenten could feel herself growing confused and uncertain.

The school was like an ocean of the most expressive fish she had ever seen. From people who looked similar to herself, to people wearing tailored pants and shoulder sweaters. From ragged and abused to pristine and perfect. Distressed, frayed, vintage, clearance, designer, and spotless. Hair was colored every conceivable color, and cut in every concievable way. Shoes came in every color, texture, size, style, and condition. Some faces were mesmerizingly beautiful, some hard to look at.

The alarming part was that they all walked in tight cliques—not mingling, not merging. Circles touched, but didn't overlap.

That was a bad sign.

The cafeteria was huge, and sleek, and modern. It was black and silver tile through and through—on the floors, up the walls, and a sleek black polished shimmer on the ceiling, making it seem endless. Small, industrial circle lights placed in intervals along the walls and on the ceiling made the whole place feel chic and yet sharp, giving it an almost hospital-cafeteria-like feel. Which instantly made it cool.

Long rectangular tables made of solid wood mahogany and sleek metal legs served as eating surfaces, and they were arranged socially, at angles to make it easier for people to talk to one another. Again, chic.

But the far wall was by far the most breathtaking. The room was easily fifty meters long and the ceilings twenty feet high, and yet the entire back wall was that super thick glass—not a mirror for the outside only, but in reality a one sided pane that allowed you to see out and observe the beautiful setting sun stretch across the ocean.

There were two long, black marble counters on either of the far walls, and behind them were the kitchen staff, preparing french fries, gravy, paninis, soups and salads, hot hamburger, roast chicken, ramen of every flavor, and sushi of different assortments. There were fridges full of jello, pudding, cold sandwiches and drinks of every kind. There were serving bowls full of cracker toasts and cheese packets, butter and cream packets, jam packets, sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar and ketchup packets—even marmalade packets. Espresso, cappucino, and frappe latte machines occupied one wall, and two slushie machines whirled happily along, displaying bright blue and yellow slush. It was...a little bit extreme, in Tenten's opinion. Students were lining up to buy what they wanted to eat, and Tenten breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the food was cheap. The tables slowly filled themselves up as the lines moved along, and Tenten started scanning for her other friends over Ino's squealing.

She was just purchasing a hamburger with fries and gravy when she spotted Naruto down the line, grabbing seven bowls of Miso ramen. She and the other girls stood aside and waited for him to come up to the cash register, and when he saw them, he beamed. He carried his super full tray to the closest table, and sat down, beckoning for them to follow. The girls took their food and sat down, and soon Shikamaru, Kiba, and Sakura had caught up to them and sat down at the table with them. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, and upon prying Shikamaru for information, it was revealed that the Uchiha had gotten tired and passed out before dinner was even served, his bags untouched. How very un-Uchiha of him.

Dinner was really loud due to the chatter of all the students gathered together at once, and talk mostly centered around the new kids, and why the headmaster wasn't there to give her usual speech. Tenten could feel eyes boring into her from every direction, and was sure her friends were getting the same assessment. All in all, it tired her out, and as soon as she was finished eating, she was going back to her dorm room.

The sun was just disappearing behind the water when she and the girls came home, and Temari distributed the dorm keys that were always left for the next year's occupants. "Because I believe in sleeping with the doors locked," she said with a wink.

She was in bed, curled around her sleeping bag, having just texted her parents about her amazing and hectic day, when she noticed her timestable on top of her purse beside her. She picked it up, and read the four subjects she was to take every day.

7:00-8:00 AM—Swimming and Aquatic Aerobics. _They're kidding, right?_

10:00-11:00 AM—Mathematic Functions. _Why, God? Why?_

1:00-2:00 PM—Artstic Expression. _Finally. Damn._

3:00-4:00 PM—Literature and Examination of Literature. _Livable._

She groaned, hardly happy with her schedule due to the first half of it, and then started to pass out from the exhaustion pulling at her frame.

While Tenten and Ino stayed up discussing handbags, Tenten was slipping into a near coma, and she was practically in a vegatative state when she heard the door open and a new voice call out into the open space.

**Okay...Finished. Finally.**

**This chapter was actually hard to spit out, because it as so long. I feel drained of creative juices, so I hope you're all happy with it. Let me know what you think!**

**.xXx. Angel .xXx.**


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